Mumprenuer helps one in four Milton Keynes families who can't afford to buy children shoes for school

MK mum and businesswoman Samantha Tarbit runs Shoedini, an independent children’s shoe shop based in Broughton.

Her store donated £5000 worth of brand new boxed shoes - 100 pairs - to Storehouse, which supports the one in four children in Milton Keynes living below the poverty line.

The charity, which is based in Stacey Bushes, was originally setup by the Grand Union Vineyard Church in Milton Keynes.

Rachel Kleinsmith, community outreach coordinator at Grand Union said: "It's a shocking fact that we have such a high level of child poverty in Milton Keynes and the current situation with Covid-19 is making things so much harder for a lot of people. "

She added: "At the MK Storehouse, we do our best to provide clothing for families in need, but our stock of children's footwear was running incredibly low. This amazing donation from Shoedini Shoes will be such a help to so many children. We are so grateful for the support of Shoedini and can't thank Sam and her customers enough."

Despite being open for just over 18 months and facing the toughest times for retailers, Samantha created innovative responses to the Covid crisis by offering virtual appointments and guidance to ensure children’s feet are still looked after during lockdown.

As a local Milton Keynes mum and business owner, she has supported various fundraising / donation initiatives since launching in 2019. In December 2020, she created the MK Storehouse campaign, vowing to donate a brand new pair of school shoes to MK Storehouse charity for each pair she sold.

Samantha said: “Shoedini has been very fortunate to receive such warmth from our community ever since launch. We wanted to do more to help those families who may be struggling right now.

"With the kindness of our customer network, Shoedini raised over 100 brand new boxed shoes for MK Storehouse who have supported the growth of local children for a few years now, and their work now is more crucial than ever.

"We are thoroughly delighted to support the feet of our wider community. Every child deserves good comfortable shoes.”